The Power of Speech

(Reference to this week’s dialogue practice)

Have you lied in your life? I know I have, but does it mean lying is morally wrong or does it constitute a great folly that corrupts people’s mind?

What is a lie? By definition, a lie is a fabrication of an untruth where the person who concocts a false statement will use it to make others believe its truthfulness. A liar is the person who commits lying. We dub someone a crook (a cunning, sly person so to speak) if the person habitually deceives others for their own benefits.

A lie does not necessarily equate to deceit. For instance, if a butterfly stretches its wings signaling a threat to predators, albeit its actual puny little body, it gives a false illusion of a larger and more intimidating profile, perhaps very dangerous to prey on. In this case, a butterfly is not lying to have stronger physique, it is more of a survival skill where the insect uses deception to blur predators’ perception.

Mother nature applies deception into various plants and animals in ecology. Many carnivore (meat eater) plants exemplify what it is to deceive their preys with signs and coax them to their “decoys”.

Behold, the Nepenthes

Above is a perfect example of a carnivore plant that gives no mercy when insects especially flies fall into their entrapment. They spew an awful stench that mimics decomposing matter from its cups and then once a fly dives in, the cup seals the lips tightly, shattering the fly’s dream of a big feast and immediately reversing it to a nightmare of eternal demise.

They use their perfectly deceiving appendage to acquire prey in order to self-sustain. Animals like lizards, frogs, and others also manipulate their body in time of danger to fend off potential predators. Deception maybe a way for many of these organisms to battle in the natural selection.

However, in the Christian Bible and in God’s eyes lying is a sin (breaking of God’s laws) that is as vile as adultery and murder. According to the Ten Commandments where reads: Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor (Exodus 20:16). Basically it translates into “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor”. Using speech to tell a lie is against the Ten Commandments because “every soul” in the world is our neighbor, so if we deliberately choose to deceive, we will have to face consequences for our misdeeds on the day it comes unless we repent. Lying is as awful as gossiping and slandering which are also false manipulation of God’s creation of speech.

the Ten Commandments

There are “harmless lies” called the white lies. In the real world, white lies are often used to buffer a situation or protect someone’s feelings. Personally, I am confused about the morality of white lies. If you mislead someone into believing something which is untrue, wouldn’t that be morally wrong?

There are many areas to explore in this topic and I will leave it at this. Feel free to leave a comment.

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